Could The iPhone Price Strategy Spread To The Rest of the Mac Lineup?

[MICHAELSD]

Any way you look at it, Macs are overpriced. I could get a Dell XPS M1530 with identical specs and performance for half the price of a MacBook Pro, especially with the nice coupons that Dell usually offers. My logic might not be great, but Apple started the iPhone out at $599 (first PowerBook), then they dropped it to $399 (MacBook Pro), now $199 (new MacBook Pro?). What I mean by that is that the first Powerbooks were really expensive, then the price went down with the MacBook Pro, and we probably have a redesign coming. Still, Macs are really overpriced. I'd buy a MacBook Pro if it started at $1500, but I'm not paying $1k extra over similar Windows notebooks just for OS X and the Apple brand, though I'd really like both.

Like Apple did with the iPhone, could Apple make MacBook pricing more competitive to help get a bigger marketshare? I'm sure it's something Apple has been really considering, and they'll probably make money off of it, they're making a lot more than they should now.

 

[EricNau]

No, the iPhone is only cheaper because it's being subsidized by AT&T. Apple's still getting around $400.

 

[Breegy]

No, the iPhone is only cheaper because it's being subsidized by AT&T. Apple's still getting around $400.

Yep. If you were to buy the iPhone without an AT&T contract it would cost probably about $600. There was an exactly number I saw somewhere, but I can't remember.

 

[masse]

the iphone isn't a mac.

 

[dacreativeguy]

The iphone actually costs about $2000 minimum when you factor in the 2 year contract. You can buy a MacBook for $1000 or a Mac Mini for $750. Those are much cheaper than an iphone!

 

[MICHAELSD]

Yeah, but before they made at least $400-$600 plus ATT paid Apple around $5 a month per subscriber. I know that it's a Mac and not an iPhone, but Apple might start to follow the strategy that they did with the iPhone. We're not getting enough to justify the $2k starting price of a MacBook Pro, Apple is making way too much with each Mac sold. I still think we can see a really nice price drop with the new MacBook Pro lineup. Apple doesn't make anything with the iPhone 3G with the monthly fees, that all goes to ATT this time around.

 

[Tallest Skil]

We're not getting enough to justify the $2k starting price of a MacBook Pro, Apple is making way too much with each Mac sold.

1. If OS X isn't enough for you, buy a piece of Dell.
2. It's called capitalism. If you don't like it, go to Cuba or China.

 

[kkat69]

There is no price strategy here.

The way the iPhone is being released now is exactly how it should have been released in the beginning. Lower price when contract included and higher price if bought seperately. The only big difference is still unlocking.

Case and point. My Treo. Retail when I bought mine was about 599 or so, with contract it was 299. Similar situation with iPhone now. Apple's and ATT mistake was selling it the way they did the first time.

If they released iPhone 1 the way they are doing it now we'd probably, more than likely see less whining on the cost.

Same with the data plan. Before the iPhone came out the data plan was 30 bucks, it's STILL 30 bucks, how did ATT raise it? The way the iPhone was released makes people THINK the data plan was raised when it wasn't.

Regarding Macs, I see the price (and I'm a recent switcher only owning my 2 Macs for almost a year) difference between say Dell (since you used them) and a Mac as the difference between Amptron and Asus. Your paying for an overall better quality machine/software. Flame on that if you wish and I'm sure people will.

I like the analogy of Dell being the WalMart of computers. I firmly believe it and I've down Dells and still own 1 (which my kids use) and I use one at work. I don't recommend them to anyone except "If you want a cheap machine to surf the net, go buy a Dell from (of all places) WalMart". I normally tell them to buy Alienware.

No one is twisting ANYONE's arm to buy a Mac. Their prices are coming down but it's not just the Mac you buy. It's the total package, the whole experience. It's not just the machine, it's the software, service, and security your getting.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Yeah, I understand that. I've supported Apple for a while and I almost got a MacBook Pro before I got my Windows desktop (I got it over the MBP because of power and upgradability). The prices of PC hardware have been coming down a lot, you guys don't think that Apple will ever reflect that in pricing the MacBook Pro?